Editorial: UConn President Susan Herbst will earn her high pay if she makes good on promises

Susan Herbst has done a good job in her four years as UConn president. She has set the university on a path that holds promise but still has a way to go.

Even so, she'll be challenged to justify her big raise to students and parents feeling the pinch of a 6.5 percent tuition hike.

How to dispel the critics? Ms. Herbst must make good on her promise to push UConn higher up the ranks of top national universities. She must also create an atmosphere where everyone feels safe and bring more transparency to the UConn Foundation.

On Monday, the UConn Board of Trustees voted unanimously to extend her contract another four years and increase her total annual compensation to more than $758,000 in 2015 (a 20.7 percent increase from her current contract).

Part of her pay will come from private money raised by the UConn Foundation. All the more reason for the foundation to be subject to state freedom-of-information laws, to avoid any conflicts of interest.

The University of Connecticut's Board of Trustees voted Monday to extend UConn President Susan Herbst's contract until 2019 with an overall increase in salary and other compensation that will bring her total compensation to more than $758,000 a year in 2015.

The boost in total compensation for...

The University of Connecticut's Board of Trustees voted Monday to extend UConn President Susan Herbst's contract until 2019 with an overall increase in salary and other compensation that will bring her total compensation to more than $758,000 a year in 2015.

The boost in total compensation for...

(GREGORY B. HLADKY)

Yes, that's a lot of money, as the president of UConn's student government, Claire Price, said. But Ms. Herbst leads a top public university with a $1.2 billion budget. UConn has held its spot at No. 19 in the nation the past two years through academic strength and other criteria. Also, the state has invested unprecedented amounts of money in the university during her tenure.

And it doesn't hurt that both the men's and women's basketball teams captured NCAA championships this year, becoming the only Division I school to do this twice.

UConn is on a roll, and Susan Herbst has powered that with the help of many talented people. But a lot is expected in return for her raise. With it comes the assumption that UConn won't remain at No. 19 for long.

What's also expected is a safe campus that takes crime reporting seriously. in 2013, a federal lawsuit claimed UConn had shown indifference to former and current students who reported sexual assaults. UConn settled the suit by paying the plaintiffs nearly $1.3 million and instituting changes — including changing the school's defensive tone on the matter.